How To Save The World
by Zeea
Summary: Roswell, New Mexico, 2020. The parents make a huge decision to try and save the lives of their children, and the world.
1. Prologue

**Title**: How To Save The World

**Author**: Zia

**Rating**: Teen

**Summary**: Roswell, New Mexico, 2020. The parents make a huge decision to try and save the lives of their children, and the world.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Roswell, if I did, it would still be on the air.

**Author's Note**: Another idea that has been in my head for a very, very long time.

**Prologue**

**Roswell New Mexico 2020**

One alien, and four humans stood in the room they considered the living room, staring at each other. "You're serious?" Maria's voice cracked slightly, looking at her friend Tess.

"It's the only way." Tess whispered. Her own voice cracking.

"But what if the same thing happens to them that happened to Max!" Liz exclaimed quietly, and angrily.

"We recalibrated it." Tess insisted. "Alex worked really hard-"

"You don't know if it'll work!" Liz yelled.

"Liz, I have just as much invested in this as you do. My children are just as important to me, as yours is to you." Tess hissed. "Its the only way! If we don't... Khivar will track us all down, and kill them. Do you really want that? Do you want Claudia to die the same way Michael and Isabel did?"

Liz hung her head and looked out the window.

"What happens... if they... what if it doesn't work?" Maria asked. Her son was all she had left. She just wanted him to be safe.

"We have to be positive about this." Alex spoke up. "Tess and I are sure we figured everything out. We'll send the kids back, and they will be safe."

"They'll be all alone." Tears rolled down Maria's cheeks.

"No, they won't Maria. We will be there... just, the younger versions of ourselves. They'll be okay." Alex tried to reassure her as he wrapped his arms around her. But inside he was terrified. He loved his daughters more than his own life, and he was petrified that something would happen to them. That Khivar would find them. And hurt them. But he couldn't let that happen.

"How soon?" Kyle asked, reaching over to grasp his wife's hand gently.

"We need to do it soon. A few hours at the most. Khivar will sense the power as soon as we activate it. He'll find us."

"Don't tell any of the kids that." Alex spoke up.

"Like they won't figure it out?" Liz asked shaking her head before she stood up and walked out of the room in search of her daughter.

One by one the others began leaving the room. First Maria, then Alex with a heavy sigh. Leaving Kyle and Tess, clutching each other's hands. "I'll go find Thorin." Kyle told her. "Find Zan."

"I don't know if I can do this, Kyle." Tess whispered. "Sending them back there... Khivar could somehow figure out a way to follow them. Then what? We'll be dead, and so will they."

Kyle sighed and pulled his wife into his arms. "All of those kids are strong. Each and every one of them. And they will take care of each other, you know that." He stroked some hair back from her face and kissed her forehead. "They will be fine. Zan has always kept an eye on them. It will be okay Tess."

"I am so scared, Kyle." She whispered, reaching up to cup his face. "They are our children...we're sending them back... and... what if the us from back then, doesn't want then, doesn't help them?"

"Tess, do you actually believe you would turn away your own children? Even at the age of seventeen?"

"Yes... no, I don't know!" She was a different person then. When she got pregnant with Zan her whole life changed.

"Well I do, and I do think I know you pretty well. You will take care of them, no matter what, because your family is the most important thing to you. I know that. Scared or not, you'll do what is right."

"Mom? Dad?" They both turned their heads and saw Thorin walking into the room. He paused staring at his parents. "Why are you crying mom?"

"Baby, come here." Tess held her hand out towards her son. "We need to talk."

Lilah sat on the front step of the house, staring out at the vast blank desert before her. "Hey." She looked up and saw her younger sister sit down beside her, cup of tea clutched in her hand.

"Hey." She echoed.

"Something is going on." Alexandra told her as she took a sip of her tea.

"What do you mean?"

"I overheard the parentals talking. I didn't hear much. But whatever it is, it's big. And none of them are happy." Lilah frowned, and her frown deepened when she saw her stepfather walk out the front door.

"Dad?" Lilah asked. Though the man was not her actual father by blood, he had taken her in, raised her and loved her like she was his own. He meant the world to her, along with her sister.

"I need to talk to you two." Alex sighed, and sat down between the two. They were both the spitting image of their mother. Sometimes it hurt to look at them. It broke his heart. But this would be for the better. They would get to see their mother again. Isabel. He wished he could see her again too. "We've figured out a plan."

"A plan?" Lilah repeated, casting a glance at Alexandra.

"Yeah." Alex looked down at his hands and clenched his eyes shut. "We're going to use the Granilith to send you back in time. About twenty years."

"You're going to what?!" Lilah hissed, leaping off the step, and turning to face her father. "You can't!" She cried out.

"Lilah-"

"No!" She yelled. "Look at what happened to Max! He disappeared! We never saw him again! What if that happens to us!? What if you guys don't want us! I can't leave you." Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she looked down at her father.

"Lilah." Alex stood up and pulled her into his arms. "It's the only way, Khivar is coming, he's going to find us. He only wants one thing, everyone dead."

"But... but what if...I begged him not to, I mean he's my fath-" Lilah bit her lip and quickly bowed her head. She hated that he was her father.

"Your mother begged for the same thing." Alex cupped her face in his hands and wiped away her tears.

"I can't just leave you..."

"You have to. Its the only way for you to be safe, and that is all that matters to me, that both of you are safe." Alex pulled Alexandra up and into his arms, holding the two of them tightly. "You're all I have left, and I only want you to be safe." Both girls clung to him, as tightly as they could.

Maria found her son in the basement, laying on the floor, sketching in his notepad. "Mikey..."

"Hi mom." He said glancing up for a second before going straight back to his sketch.

"Mikey, I need to talk to you. Please, stop sketching, because I know that you don't listen to me when you are." His pencil stopped mid stroke and he looked up at his mom. He could see the worry in her face.

"Whats wrong?" He asked, his brow furrowing. Maria held her hand out to him and tugged him up off the floor and into her lap.

"You were too young to remember Uncle Max. But you know how we talked about how we used the Granilith to send him back in time to try and change things, change the fact that Khivar came to Earth, change that Isabel and your dad died..." Mikey nodded. "Well, sweetie, we're going to use the Granilith again. But this time," Maria paused, taking in a breath, trying not to start crying. "We're going to use it to send all of you kids back. So that way you'll be safe, and Khivar won't be able to find you."

"I don't want to." He pouted and wrapped his arms around her.

"Michael, you have to. This is to keep you safe, and you'll have all your cousins there to take care of you, Lilah will be there." Maria sat back a little and pushed some hair off his forehead. "I'll be there. I'll be younger, and ... much weirder." Maria smiled, trying to get him to laugh, but he wasn't having it. "Your dad will be there."

Mikey frowned. "He will?" He'd never met his father. He had died a few days before he was even born. He had pictures, and he knew that he looked a lot like his father.

"He will." Maria nodded. "You have to be brave for me baby, this is the only choice we have."

"Why can't you come?" He asked her.

"Because... the Granilith is only going to be strong enough to send back you kids. Besides, I will be there. And you kids will find us, and everything will be okay. I promise we will take care of you." Maria hugged her son tightly against his chest. "I'll always be with you, not matter what." She whispered, kissing the side of his face.

Liz walked into her daughter's room, the room she shared with Lilah, and Alexandra. "Claudia, we need to talk."

"What is it?" She asked with a look of confusion on her face.

"The others came up with the idea to send you all back in time."

"Like dad?" Liz nodded.

"I'm not going to do it, I won't allow you to go back, and disappear, just like Max did. I can't loose you too."

"Mom-"

"This isn't an option, Dia. You not going back. If the others want to kill their children, they are more than welcome to. Khivar will go after them, not you. They don't even know if the Granilith will be able to support all of them. I'm not going to risk your life."

Liam and Zan stood out in the desert, high up on a rock formation. Both were generally quite people, and preferred to be away from the rest of the 'family.' Zan, the first born of the whole group, was the child of Tess and Max. Their relationship hadn't lasted the first year he was around. Max was too in love with the doe-eyed Liz to care about Tess. And Zan resented him for that.

And Liam was just as much an outcast, Tess had been wrong about the dream pregnancy. Surprise. Isabel and Michael had started having the dreams again, and nine months later, Liam was born. He never quite felt like he belonged in either family. His own parents were friends, and considered each other siblings.

The two had become allies of sorts. Neither quite feeling like they belonged. Sure, all the parents tried. But it wasn't the same. Liam blasted a rock, up from the ground, causing it to fly into the air, where he hit it again, and watched it explode into a cloud of dust.

Tess knew exactly where she would find her son. He spent many hours out there, he and Liam. And as she approached the rock she wasn't disappointed. "Zan, Liam." She called, looking up to where they were sitting. "Come down here, please."

Both boys looked down at her before looking at each other. A second later they were making their way down the rock formation to stand in front of her. "Whats up?" Zan asked.

Tess opened her mouth, and then closed it, she was going to tell Liam to go find Alex, to let him explain, but she knew that Liam wouldn't. "We're going to use the Granilith to send you kids back in time."

"You're going to do what?" Zan demanded angrily.

"We have to Zan, Khivar is coming. Its the only way to keep all of you safe."

"That's bullshit."

"Zan-"

"And if I refuse?" He crossed his arms over his chest, and in him, Tess saw his namesake. That part of Max that was defiant, and if it wasn't his own decision, he wasn't going to do it.

"Then, so help me, I will mind warp you, or I will knock you unconscious, and then you won't have much of a choice. This isn't up for discussion, Zan. Get back to the house, now."

Zan growled deep in his throat, livid that she would tell him what to do. It was his life, and he sure as hell did not want to go back in time, no matter where they were going.

He and Liam made their way back to the house and Liam stopped short when he saw Lilah, and Alexandra sitting on the front step, both clinging to their father.

"Liam-" Alex started but Liam cut him off.

"Don't worry about it, Tess already told me."

Alex sighed as he looked at Liam. He tried so hard for Isabel's sake. But Liam had never been forthcoming.

The group began to gather in the Pod Chamber, watching with bated breath as Tess slid the key into the slot. The Granilith whirled to life. This was it. No turning back now. Indefinitely Khivar would feel the power. He would know. He would find them and it was only a matter of time before he came.

Mikey clung to Maria, as tightly as he could, crying softly. "Don't wanna go." He wailed into her shoulder.

"I know, baby. I know." Maria looked at Lilah, who immediately walked over and touched Mikey's head.

"Come on, kiddo. We've gotta go." The little boys tear stained face looked up at hers, and Lilah felt her heart break. She pulled him from Maria's arms, feeling them both resist a little. His legs went around her waist, and his arms around her neck and he clung to her tightly.

"Keep an eye on him, please." Maria whispered, and Lilah nodded, watching the tears roll down Maria's cheeks.

"I will." She said before walking back towards the Granilith.

"I love you, girls." Alex told him, and kissed both their cheeks.

"Love you too, dad." Lilah told him, hugging him tight, then stepping back to let Alexandra do the same. Then Lilah took Alexandra's hand, and squeezed it, trying to reassure her.

Zan was angry. Livid. He didn't see any reason why they had to do this. They were stronger together. Sending them back to a time when their parents were going to be the same age as he was. Ridiculous. "Zan, please-" Tess started as she reached for him.

"Forget it, iTess/i." He snapped, and watched as his mother's heart broke. He didn't mean to be cruel, but he couldn't do anything else. This was his home. Regardless of everything. Going back to a time where they wouldn't be welcome, wouldn't be able to use their powers. Wouldn't have a home.

Tess' jaw trembled as she stared at her oldest son. Before she stepped back and hugged Thorin tightly. "Be safe." She whispered in his ear. "Listen to your brother. Find me, and Kyle, as soon as you can. I love you so much." She moved away letting Kyle hug his son, before Thorin walked to the Granilith.

"Liam." Maria said quietly, looking at the boy, who she did love as her own, even though he never knew it. He was more like Michael than Mikey was, in the sense that he didn't feel like he belonged at all. "I just want you to know I love you. And, try not to tell us too much about the future..." Part of her was afraid that he might. He was angry she knew. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to him.

Liam simply nodded slightly, before Alex cleared his throat. "You guys, it's time, everyone that is going, touch the Granilith."

No one moved at first, then Lilah pushed Alexandra towards it, then Thorin reached up, followed by Liam, each touching it and letting themselves be sucked inside. The time was running out. Seconds to go. Lilah reached up and saw Zan lingering. "Zan!" She yelled and grabbed onto his hand, and didn't miss the dirty look he shot her as they were both pulled in.

"Claudia!" Alexandra suddenly yelled. Everyone looked towards where Liz and Claudia had been standing. They were gone.

Alex rushed out of the pod chamber and saw the two running as quickly as they could down the steep rock. "Damn it." He breathed and turned back just in time. All the kids were safely in the Granilith. There was an explosion of light. And then they were gone.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

Immediately after the kids were gone, the adults ran out of the chamber, chasing after Liz and Claudia, each with their own piece of mind to give her. "Are you stupid?!" Alex roared. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"You're all idiots!" Liz yelled back. "You don't know what is going to happen to them!"

"Maybe not, but I sure as hell know that they are better off wherever they are now, than here, where Khivar will come. Don't get get that, Liz?" Tess hissed. "Khivar is coming, and you just handed Claudia to him on a silver platter."

"No." Liz shook her head.

A moment later there was a clap of thunder, a black vortex opened, and Khivar walked through with a sinister grin on his face. "Well, what do we have here?" He asked. "So strong, the power. What are you up to?" He looked around. "Where is my daughter?"

"She isn't your daughter." Alex insisted.

"Well, DNA, and the fact that I slept with Vilandra, says otherwise."

"Don't call her that." Alex stood his ground. "You'll never get your hands on her. Or any of them."

"We'll see." Khivar grinned, and held his hand out towards Alex. A second later Alex crumpled to the ground. Maria screamed.

"Alex!" She rushed to his side, and with the flick of Khivar's wrist, she collapsed beside her friend.

"Stop it Khivar!" Tess screamed, and clenched her eyes shut, trying to do anything she could to stop him. But it all went black before she had the chance. Kyle watched as his wife's eyes rolled back in her head and then slid down to the dusty ground.

"No." He whispered and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly, refusing to look at anything but her. Wanting Tess to be his last thought before inevitably Khivar killed him.

Liz's jaw trembled as she watched her friends die. Claudia was hiding behind her mother, crying against her shoulder. "Get away from us." Liz begged.

"You're a very, very stupid girl." Khivar flicked his wrist and watched Claudia fly backwards, screaming, she slammed into the rock formation. Blood dripped from her head before she fell to the hot ground.

"No!" Liz screamed and tried running to her daughter but found herself suspended. Unable to move.

"You are a weak and stupid girl. Why Zan ever saved you I will never know." Khivar drawled. "But, he never was a smart one. Now, tell me, where are the children?" Khivar walked towards her, and she flinched back, or at least tried to.

"I don't know."

He smirked at her. "I don't believe you." His hand touched her forehead and she was screaming a second later, pain coursing through her mind as he searched for the answers. "Boring... boring... what a tragic romance. You deserve what you get." He pushed and pushed farther. "Ah." He suddenly stopped, turning the memory over in her mind. "Here we are."

**Roswell, New Mexico 2000**

Lilah cried out quietly as she landed flat on her back, with Mikey still clinging to her. She couldn't breathe. "Alex? Zan?" She managed out, trying to sit up, and push Mikey off of her.

"You okay?" Zan asked walking over to where Lilah was laying. She gave him a slight nod as she tried to breathe. A second later she cried out in pain and he looked back down at her. "What?"

"Ow... it hurts." She brought her hand up to her side and grit her teeth.

"Lemme see." Zan knelt down beside her and touched her side, and connected with her, trying to seek out what was wrong. "You broke a rib."

"Yeah, I can tell." She said sarcastically.

"Help me try and heal it."

"Neither one of us can heal, Zan."

"Would you rather just be in agony? Rather than trying?" Lilah gave him a dirty look and stopped trying to move.

"Fine." She whispered. A second later she felt Zan's hand press against her side again, and she cried out quietly. "That hurts!" She snapped at him, then felt him grab her hand and place it on top of his.

"Focus, Lilah." He growled.

Lilah took a breath and did her best to focus any energy she could, but her mind instantly was on Alexandra, and the others. "It's fine." She said brushing his hand away. It still hurt like crazy, but she had to find her sister. "Alex?!" She looked around and yelled. But they were alone. In the middle of the woods. "Are we in Frazier woods?" She asked looking around.

"I think so." Zan extended his hand towards her to help her to her feet, and didn't miss the look of pure agony that crossed her face. But he also knew that she wasn't going to relax until they found the others.

"Should we head to town?" Lilah asked, reaching out to take Mikey's hand.

"I think that is the best idea."

"What... what if they didn't make it? What if the Granilith couldn't support everyone? What if they are still there? Or in another time?" Sudden panic filled Lilah. Hundreds of scenarios ran through her mind. The others were transported to another time, another place, or not at all. Maybe lost somewhere in a rip in the dimensions. "We have to find them!"

"Calm. Down." Zan told her very slowly. "We'll head to town. I'm sure the others are here somewhere, and the will do the same thing." So they began to walk, in what Zan only hoped was the right direction, and that they weren't heading deeper into Frazier woods.

Zan wasn't quite sure how long they had been walking, but both Lilah and Mikey were both dragging a little bit slower with each step. Finally Zan knelt down in front of Mikey and told him to climb on his back, which the young boy did gratefully. "Doing okay?" He asked glancing at Lilah.

"Fine." She told him.

Finally they reached the road, and Zan flagged down the first car he saw. "What are you kids doing out here?" The older man asked with a frown.

"We were camping," Lilah tried to explain. "We went for a walk, and apparently have a horrible sense of direction." She gave the old man a smile, and he smiled back at her.

"Well, hop in, I'll drive you back into town."

"Thanks." Lilah said before climbing in the back seat with Mikey. A few minutes later they arrived in town, and Lilah couldn't help but look around, a little awed by everything. The whole town had been destroyed, when they came from. To see everything still standing, and new. "Here is good." Lilah said when she spotted the Crashdown Cafe. "Thanks again." She told him as they climbed out.

Her ribs were still killing her, but she did her best to ignore it. They walked across the street to the Crashdown and she froze. "Zan... we look... just like our parents, people are going to notice." She said quietly. It would draw a lot of attention to them. And that was the last thing they needed right now.

"Wait here." He said and jogged down the street to a souvenir shop. When he came back he had two hats in his hand. He stuck one on top of Lilah's head, it had a wide brim and hung down over her eyes. And then he stuck the baseball cap on his own head, and pulled it down low. The trio walked into the diner, and looked around.

"Mom." Mikey whispered, seeing Maria walking to a table with her arms full of plates.

"Hi." She smiled brightly. "You can sit wherever." She said before turning her attention to the customers in the booth she had just approached.

"Mikey, you can't say anything." Zan told him quietly as they found a booth away from most of the people.

"I know." He pouted and hung his head down.

Maria walked up to the table, and smiled at them. "Good morning, how are you three?" The young boy looked up at her, and started to cry, before turning his head and burying his face in the girl's arm. "Mikey." She whispered and hugged him. "We're...good."

"Is he okay?" Maria asked concerned.

"He just... misses his mom. We had to... there is a really bad man after us, and we had to leave her behind."

"I'm sure you'll see her again, soon enough." Maria tried to reassure him, she touched the back of his head gently, and then before she realized what was happening he had launched himself into her arms, and was holding her as tightly as he could. "Uh-" Maria was officially confused. The two others at the table looked up, one looked like Isabel, only younger, the other like Max, but his hair was quite a bit longer. "What is going on?" She asked, shaking her head. This was some alien thing. She knew it.

"Maria-" Lilah opened her mouth then looked at Zan, silently begging him to explain.

"You probably want to sit down." Zan told her. He remembered just how crazy his aunt was when she was younger. And her tendency to freak out. He watched as she grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the end of the booth and sat down.

"Who are you?" She asked, her arms wrapped around the little boy, with one hand rubbing up and down his back, trying to calm him down.

"We're... the kids." Zan told her quietly. "We used the Granilith..."

"The what?" Maria shook her head. She wasn't sure if it was all a lie, or not. She needed Spaceboy, or Max, her heck, even Isabel. What if it was all just some ploy to get her to tell them where it was? What if they were shape shifting, evil aliens?

"Can you call anyone? Isabel? Or Tess even?" The last person Zan wanted to see was Max. And he knew that if Michael came, Mikey would probably have a melt down. That needed to be dealt with in private.

"No." Maria told him. "Isabel and Max are both at some family outing, and I'm not calling Tess. Just tell me."

Zan took a breath and sighed. "Alright, the Granilith is this thing, in the pod chamber. It is really powerful, and can do all sorts of things. Like, time travel. They used it once before... to send Max back in time to try and change things. But he didn't change anything, so... six years later they decided to give it another shot, they sent back us kids, not so much to change anything, but to protect us, from Khivar."

"Khivar?"

"Evil man, out to destroy the world." Lilah shot Zan a dirty look and he quickly lowered his head. "Sorry." He muttered. It was true, but he knew it hurt Lilah. After all, he was her father.

"Look, you guys thought it was a good idea to send us back here. But the three of us got split up from the rest, and we don't know where they are, or even if they made it out. So we are here, for who knows how long, I really don't think you guys thought this through well enough." Lilah sighed.

"There are more of you?" Maria asked, and they both nodded. "How many more?

"Four more kids... but only three got in the Granilith." She really hoped that Claudia was okay. Along with everyone else. What if Khivar was killing them right now, while they were sitting here, at the Crashdown, the others were dying?

"Whose... are they?"

"Well, if you couldn't tell already, that's your son." Zan gestured to Mikey, who hadn't moved from Maria's lap. Maria sat back a little and looked at Mikey's face and she couldn't help but smile. He had a good mix of her own, and Michael's features. She sort of loved the fact that she and her Spaceboy had a son. Even if the rest of the world apparently was crap.

"I'm Lilah, Isabel's daughter. That's Zan. Max and Tess'." Maria's breath hitched slightly in her throat. Max and Tess? "The others are Thorin, Kyle and Tess' son, Alexandra, my sister, and Liam... Also Claudia is Max and Liz's daughter. But she and Liz ran out of the Granilith Chamber before anyone could stop them."

"Who are Liam's parents?" Lilah bit down on her lip, and Zan avoided looking at Maria. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Remember when they were having those dreams?" Zan asked. "And Isabel thought she was pregnant?" Maria nodded. "Well, apparently, it was possible for them to get pregnant in a dream."

"Isabel... and Michael?" Maria felt her heart constrict. "Oh..." Her eyes focused back on Zan. "So, then you're one too?" His eyes narrowed and she knew instantly she'd made a mistake.

"No. They actually had sex, and had me. Trust me, once Tess got pregnant they realized their mistake." Zan ground out at her before climbing out of the booth and storming out of the diner.

"I should..." Lilah watched Zan's retreating back.

"Go." Maria nodded. "Okay, go. We'll be fine." She said, glancing down at Mikey. A moment later Lilah was rushing out the door after Zan. Leaving Maria, with her son.

She had a son. "Come on," She smiled, gently pushing him out of her lap, and walking with him over to the counter. She sat him down on a stool and walked around to the other side of the counter. "You hungry?"

Mikey nodded. "Yeah." He said very quietly.

"How about... a strawberry waffle? With lots of whipped cream?" She watched a smile spread across the boy's face and she smiled back at him. "Okay."

"Zan!" Lilah chased after her cousin, ignoring the pain that exploded in her ribcage. She really needed to get someone to fix that for her.

"Go away, Lilah." He yelled back.

"No!" She quickly caught up with him and sighed. "You know how things were between them back then. Maria and Tess are best friends where we are from."

"And right now, she hates my mother."

"Wow, you actually called her your mother. That is an improvement." Lilah looked around. "We have to find the others."

"I know." Zan glanced back towards the diner. "Mikey staying with her?"

"Yeah."

"He hates getting left behind."

"I know, but I think right now, there isn't any other place he wants to be, than with her." Zan nodded in agreement. "Where do we even begin to look?"

"Why don't you try to connect with Alex?" Lilah stopped walking and Zan looked at her. "You know that you can."

"No, I don't." She shook her head quickly. "What if... what if I like blow up her head or something?"

"Lilah." Zan rolled his eyes. The truth was, no one was really sure what Lilah's powers were. She refused to use them for so long. She wasn't even sure if she could still use them. For the first five years of her life she'd been with Khivar, where he had trained her rigorously, trying to make her stronger and stronger, because he hoped to use her to help him defeat the others. Father and Daughter. Until they finally came for her. They finally tracked her down, and saved her from her own personal hell.

Lilah sat down on the curb with a sigh and clenched her eyes shut tightly. She focused as best she could in her mind, picturing her younger sister. _"Alex... Alex, are you there? Please, tell me you're okay." _

Zan sat down beside her, watching her. He'd seen Alexandra dreamwalk before, it seemed similar.

"_Lilah?" _Her sister's voice answered back.

"_Oh, Alex, are you okay?"_

"_I'm fine, where are you?"_

"_With Zan, and Mikey. We're near the Crashdown, where are you?" _

"_I'm not sure, but I think we're near the lakes."_

"_We'll be right there."_

"Do you think Maria would be able to drive us out to the lakes?"

"That where they are?" Zan asked and she nodded. He shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to ask." Though he wasn't looking forward to going back there. But they stood up and headed back to the diner. They walked inside and saw Mikey sitting at the counter, a box of crayons and a stack of papers in front of him.

"Did you find them?" Maria asked, and Lilah nodded.

"Would you be able to take us out to the lakes? That's where they are."

"Uhm... yeah," Maria nodded. "Let me just get one of the other girls to cover." She stopped. "You're not all going to fit in my car."

"I'll stay with Mikey." Zan told her.

"Zan, I didn't mean anything-"

"Don't worry about it."

"I want you to know I am sorry for what I said. I didn't know." He shook his head. No one ever did.

"It's okay."

A few minutes later Maria and Lilah were in her car, driving out towards the lakes. They drove silently for a while before Maria dared to speak up. "So, things are really bad, from when you came, aren't they? I mean, bad enough that we would send you back here..." Maria glanced at Lilah, she looked so much like Isabel it was almost scary. But there was something much darker about this girl, than Isabel.

"Yeah, things... are bad. I really shouldn't tell you much." Lilah said quickly.

"Okay." Maria nodded, and chewed on her lip. "You never said who your father was. You said everyone else, except for you, and Alexandra."

"Alex." Lilah told her. "Who else? Alex is pretty good at the guitar, dad was trying to teach her, before we left."

Maria smiled a little. That was something Alex would do. "Did Michael teach Mikey how to draw?" After he had eaten his waffle, she had seen him eying a box of crayons, so she gave them to him, and found him a stack of blank paper, and he seemed perfectly content.

Lilah opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. How could she tell Maria that Michael was dead? That Mikey had never known his father. She was saved from any further words when she spotted her sister on the side of the road. "There they are!" Maria barely had a chance to stop the car before Lilah was leaping out. She ran to her sister and cupped her face. "Are you okay?" Lilah looked over her and she seemed alright.

"I'm okay Ly." Alex looked up at her sister, and then threw her arms around her waist and hugged her as tightly as she could. "I was so scared."

"Ow." Lilah grunted out, but continued to hug her sister. "Me too."

"What's wrong?"

"I broke a rib." Or ten. "I'm okay though, we found you, so we're okay. Come on, where are the others?" Alex pointed to where Liam and Thorin were sitting. "Come on you guys." Lilah hollered at them.

"Is that...Aunt Maria?"

"Yeah."

"So, did she run out screaming?" Alexandra smirked slightly and Lilah swatted her shoulder.

"Shush, no, she actually took it very well. Maybe it hasn't quite sunk in yet." They all walked towards the car and piled in. "Thats Alexandra, and Thorin, and Liam."

"Hi." Maria tried to smile at them, but Liam turned to glare out the window.

"I promised Mom I would find her." Thorin interjected.

"We will Thorin, just be patient."

"No! She said first thing, I had to find her and dad!"

"Thorin! Knock it off." Lilah snapped at him and he huffed loudly. "We're going to the Crashdown, that is where Zan and Mikey are. We'll figure everything out from there."

The ride back to the Crashdown was worse than the ride from it. But once there they all headed inside and Maria stared at all the kids in awe. It was overwhelming the idea, these were their children. She snatched up her phone and found Kyle's number in her phone book before pressing send.

"Yeah?"

"Hey Kyle, it's me... could you come down to the Crashdown?"

"Sure..." He sounded suspicous.

"And if Tess is around, she probably is going to want to come too."

"Maria? What is going on?"

"Just get here, okay?" Maria hung up the phone and looked a Thorin. "They're on their way, okay?" He nodded, and sunk into a booth next to Zan. Lilah and Alexandra were sitting opposite them, Liam had gone off to sit by himself. Mikey was still at the counter drawing.

Maria opened her phone again and dialed Michael's number. Things were pretty much crap with them right now, especially with Courtney in the picture. But as she looked at their son, she knew everything they had gone through, would go through, it was all worth it.

"Maria, I can't talk right now."

"Michael, I need you to come to the Crashdown, right now."

"Maria, I'm busy." He argued.

"With that little flousey? She slipping into her new skin?" Maria rolled her eyes. "You need to get down here, Michael. I need you here. Right. Now."

"What's going on?" He asked, instantly concerned.

"Just get here, and see for yourself." The line went down and Maria walked over and sat down next to her son.

Michael stormed into the diner. Maria was all cryptic on the phone, something was going on, and she wasn't telling him anything. He hated when she did that. He spotted her sitting at the counter, still dressed in her uniform but obviously not working. "Maria." He barked. She looked up at him, and she was practically glowing. Radiantly happy. She smiled. And he was even more confused now. "What's going on?"

Tess and Kyle walked through the door, chatting, Tess looked a little annoyed. Kyle just looked bored. Thorin saw them and leapt out of the booth and ran across the length of the diner and threw himself into their arms. "Whoa." Kyle looked down at the kid who was clutching both him and Tess.

"What the-" Tess looked down at the kid, and then glanced around the restaurant. Isabel. Isabel. Max. None looking quite like them, but it was obvious the shared DNA.

"Mom." The boy managed out, squeezing her tighter and Tess was hit with a series of flashes. Herself, holding Kyle's hand, watching a little boy playing on the carpeted floor. Herself crying, as she tried to tell that same boy, older now, that they had to send him away.

"No..." Tess pulled back and looked at him. "Oh my god." She whispered, and then looked at Kyle. Oh. My. God. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth for a split second before it dawned on her. Their future selves were probably all dead.

"Tess? You want to explain?"

"He's our son." Tess whispered, and suddenly found herself kissing Kyle firmly on the lips.

"Ew." Thorin said and rolled his eyes. He was used to his parents being affectionate. But he was a pre-teen boy that was disgusted by it. He walked back over to the booth and slid back in beside Zan.

Michael watched the exchange before turning back to Maria. "Explain. Now."

"They are our kids."

"Ours?"

"Well... everyones. Alex and Isabel's, and Tess and Kyle's..." Maria looked down at Mikey. "And ours."

Michael stared at the back of the boys head. "Ours?" His voice came out barely a whisper. The boy turned around on the stool and looked up at Michael. And they both simply stared at each other. Neither one quite sure what they should do. "Uh... hi?" Michael offered. And then instantly felt like a complete moron. He had a son. With Maria. No wonder she was glowing.

Mikey stared up at the man he knew only from pictures. He looked different. He wasn't sure what to expect. "Mom." Mikey focused his attention on Maria. "I'm tired."

Maria frowned. "Oh... okay." She looked at Michael, and then back at their son. "Come on." She hefted him up in her arms and carried him into the back room. "You can take a nap in here." She set him down on the couch and he laid down before she draped the blanket from the back of the couch over him. "Are you okay?" He nodded. "Okay." Maria leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I'll just be in the other room, okay?"

"Will you stay? Till I fall asleep?" Mikey asked, and Maria's frown deepened.

"Of course."

"Sing that song? The one Grandma Amy used to sing to you?" Maria paused for a moment, wracking her brain trying to remember it. Then she started to hum softly. She remembered the tune. The words were in her mind somewhere.

"Help me out here Mikey."

"Sleepyhead, close your eyes." Mikey whispered, and the words came flooding back to Maria.

"Sleepyhead, close your eyes. Mother's right here beside you." She leaned down and stroked her fingers through his hair gently. "I'll protect you from harm, you'll wake in my arms. Guardian angels are near, so sleep on, with no fear." The boy yawned, and snuggled into the cushions of the couch. Maria kissed his forehead again, and waited a moment before she stood up and headed back to the front of the restaurant.

Michael sat down on the stool that Mikey, his son, had just vacated and thumbed through the stack of drawings there. He wondered just how long Mikey had been sitting there drawing. There were several, really good sketches. Considering they were done by a child, they were damn amazing. "Mikey always was a good artist. I guess he got that from you." Michael looked up and saw a boy, maybe a year or two younger than he was now, sit down next to him. "Can't say I got that from you. But, I did get your uncanny ability to make things explode."

Michael looked at the boy. It wasn't like a mirror image, like the other three were, the two Isabel's and Max. But he could see distinct resemblances. He had two sons? Why hadn't Maria mentioned him? Why hadn't he been sitting here with his brother? "So, I get that your mine. But you're not Maria's?"

"Isabel's." Michael nodded, just barely. Isabel. Things had to be completely different. What had happened that he turned to Isabel? Slept with her? Got her pregnant. Had a son.

"Oh." Michael scratched his eyebrow. "Am I at least a good dad?" Was there nothing he could do right in his life?

"You died when I was twelve." Liam knew that he wasn't supposed to be telling them this stuff. But he couldn't help it. He felt that they needed to know just what they were doing. That the way they had done things had screwed up the children they had.

Michael's mouth opened, and he bowed his head. "Wow." He really was a screw up. "So... Mikey..."

"That was the first time he met you." Liam filled in.

"Figures." Michael rolled his eyes. He failed his children, he failed the woman he loved. He failed his planet. Both of them. "So, how do I fix everything?" Michael asked.

"If I tell you to forget about Maria, and be with Isabel, you'll both be miserable. Mikey won't exist. Neither will Alex. Or if I tell you to fight the dreams. Then that takes me out of the picture. So... I guess its what you want more." Liam scratched his eyebrow. "And everyone knows you love Maria, so..."

Maria walked back through the door, and gave Michael a small smile. Liam ducked his head and started playing with the crayons left behind by Mikey.

Alex walked into the Crashdown Cafe, he'd just finished burning a new CD his band had recorded and was thrilled to show Maria. She had even helped with a few of the songs. "Maria!" He smiled when he saw her and extended the CD out towards her as he walked. "The very first copy!" He thrust it into her hands and Maria just stared for a second.

"Oh! Thanks."

"Somehow, I thought you'd be more excited."

"No, I am!" She insisted. "I'm just... distracted." She glanced around and then Alex did the same. Two Isabels.

"Am I always the last to find out everything?"

"Isabel, and Max and Liz are nowhere to be seen, so, not this time." Maria smiled.

"Who are they."

"Our kids." Maria nodded towards where Lilah and Alexandra were sitting. Lilah had leaned her head down on the table , and Alex was playing with the different condiments that were on the table. "Your daughters."

"Mine?" Alex breathed. He had two, beautiful daughters. And they were obviously Isabel's children. "Wow." He said and his eyes locked with the younger of the two.

"Dad!" She shrieked and was running to him. Alexandra threw her arms around Alex's shoulders and he held onto her tightly.

"Explain?" Alex looked at Maria.

"Things were apparently bad, so we sent them all back here." Alex looked down at the top of the girls head. He had a daughter with Isabel Evans. He looked at the other one getting out of the booth, she made her way over to them. He had two daughters. And they were beautiful.

"Can you call uncle Max?" Lilah asked, holding her side. The pain was getting worse and worse.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked concerned.

"I broke a rib when we landed... I was holding Mikey and we fell backwards. None of us can heal very well. And it really hurts."

"I'll call him." Michael said pulling out his phone. "Maxwell."

"Michael, I told you we were having a family thing today."

"Yeah, well we're having an alien emergency at the Crashdown."

"What? What's going on?"

"You're going to want to get here, and quick."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Max was annoyed as he pulled the jeep up to the Crashdown. Leave it to Michael. He probably had done something, caused some sort of trouble, and now he had to come and bail him out. He and Isabel jumped out and walked inside. "Michael? What's going on? What did you do this time?"

Michael opened his mouth to make a smart ass remark, but he didn't get the chance. Max's look-a-like leapt from the booth he'd been sitting in and slammed his fist as hard as he could into Max's jaw. Max hit the ground and everyone just stared. No one was completely sure what to do.

Max quickly jumped back to his feet and held his hand out towards his twin, eyes narrowed. "What is going on? Who are you?"

Isabel stared at the two girls who looked practically identical to her, both holding onto Alex, and her knees felt weak.

"Max." Maria interjected. "Calm down." She looked at Zan and sighed. She then looked at Tess. "They'll believe you before they believe me." She said, and Tess nodded.

"They are our kids, Max. We apparently used the Granilith and sent them back in time, from about twenty years in the future."

Zan and Max glared at each other, before Alex spoke up. "She's hurt, will you heal her." Both men looked towards Alex and saw Lilah clutching her side, obvious pain on her face. Max quickly moved over to her side and laid his hand against her side, healing the damage done. Lilah let out a shuddering breath, and sunk down onto a stool at the counter. The pain finally gone. Then she saw Isabel. Her mother. Tears filled her eyes. She'd missed her so much, but she could see from the look on her face that running to her arms would not be the wisest choice right now.

"How do we know this is real?" Isabel exclaimed. "That they aren't... skins or something? Nesado could shape shift, what if there are other evil aliens out there that can shape shift!?"

Alexandra clung tighter to her father. She'd been young when her mother died, but her mom had always been loving, and to see her like this, angry, unbelieving.

"Isabel, it's real. I got flashes-" Tess tried to explain.

"And you can mindwarp! What if that is what this is?! Did any of you stop to think about that?" Isabel was yelling. Angry. It could all just be some trap. She looked at her two twins, the one holding onto Alex, the other sitting on a stool, there were tears rolling down her face. And everyone was just staring at her. "Am I the only one that is thinking we should be the least bit cautious? After everything that has happened."

"Now I understand why they called you the Ice Queen." Liam snarled and then stood up and walked out of the diner.

Isabel's mouth fell open. "This can't be real..." She whispered. Because that meant she had two beautiful daughters. And something had to have happened for them to use the Granilith to send them back in time.

"It's real, Isabel." Tess told her.

"You should go after him, Michael." Maria said softly.

"You know he's my son, right?"

"I know." Maria gave him a sad smile and kissed him softly. "I know. Go after him."

Michael sighed. She didn't hate him? Apparently, since they had a son as well, she had forgiven him eventually for having a child with another woman. He hugged her tightly and brushed his lips against her ear. A part of him felt this huge relief, knowing that Maria still loved him, even though he'd screwed up. She always loved him. No matter what he did. He never knew that kind of unconditional love existed.

Finally he let go of Maria and quickly followed the other boy out of the restaurant. He opened his mouth and suddenly realized, he didn't even know his name. "Hey, kid." He called and jogged to catch up.

"Liam." He barked.

"Okay, Liam." Michael nodded. "Sorry." He muttered an apology. "You gotta realize, this is a huge thing for us. Isabel... she... likes to have control over everything, you should know that. And for this to happen, something she has no control over, whatsoever, she is going to freak out."

"And you all need to realize this isn't any easier for us!" Liam stopped and yelled at him. "You think this is hard? You're our parents! Do you realize I am a year older than you are right now?! Zan is two years older! We're supposed to rely on you to protect us, to take care of us!? When we are older than you!? How the hell is that supposed to work? And we aren't supposed to say anything about the future, about what has happened, but you have to know! Or else this is all going to happen again! But if we tell you anything you'll change everything, and... none of us will exist. Well, maybe Thorin, and Mikey, Claudia. Alexandra. But the rest of us will be gone. What the hell were you guys thinking when you sent us back here?"

"Look, I don't know everything, but we're going to do the best that we can. Of course we are going to do whatever we can to make sure all of you are okay, regardless of who your parents are. We're all in this together." Michael completely understood what Liam was saying though. He had no idea what to do. There was no happy ending in this. "You have to help us understand everything that has happened, so we can change it, so that all of you will be safe. And I mean all." Even though he had no idea why he and Isabel had a child together, it was still his son. And he felt a strong urge to care for him.

"You can't. Somehow... not all of us are going to make it through this."

"You don't know that." Michael insisted.

"Do you really think that knowing going into everything, Tess and Max will sleep together? Knowing that in the end they won't be together. Or you and Isabel for that matter? You'll do everything you can to make sure it doesn't happen."

"No, I won't." Michael told him. "I don't know about Tess or Max, but family is family. No matter what." Michael had grown up with such a screwed up childhood. He wanted to make sure his children had everything they could ever want. Including an actual father. "But you've gotta help me out here."

Liam let out a heavy sigh. No matter what Michael said, he knew things weren't going to be okay. Together they walked back towards the diner.

Isabel slowly walked over to Alex, and the two girls that looked like her. "Alex?" She said quietly.

"Our daughters." Isabel's jaw trembled ever so slightly. They had children together?

"Ours?" Isabel asked quietly and Alex nodded.

"Lilah, and Alexandra." She looked at the two girls, taking in everything about them. Things were really bad.

"I'm so sorry." Isabel whispered.

Lilah wiped her cheeks quickly and walked away from them and into the bathroom. She flipped the lock and sunk down to the floor as she began to cry again. Seeing her mother again, after all those years, they were almost the same age. And she didn't want them. _Lilah_. She trembled hearing her father's voice in her head. And in that instant she knew that everyone they had left behind in the future was dead. The tears rolled down her cheeks faster and faster. She looked up and raised her hand, and watched as the mirror flew off the wall and crashed into the opposite wall and shattered into thousands of pieces. Slowly it melted back together, and it righted itself on the wall again.

Tess couldn't take her eyes off Zan. "Why did you hit him?" She asked quietly.

"Because he's an idiot." Zan grumbled.

"He's your father." He scoffed at that.

"He has never been my father. He regrets my existence."

"Why?" She asked.

"Because, I'm a reminder of the biggest mistake he thinks he ever made."

"And what is that?"

"Sleeping with you." Tess' breath caught in her throat and she just stared.

"Me?" Zan nodded.

"Yeah, night of conception, Prom. Just a warning." Tess opened her mouth and then closed it. She looked across the diner at Thorin and Kyle who were talking, and laughing. To Max who was watching over everyone. The reality of everything was beginning to set in.

Michael and Liam walked back into the restaurant, Maria was sitting at the counter. "You know, it probably isn't the best idea to have all of them here, where anyone can just walk in. It's a little hard to explain."

"Where are they all going to stay?" Isabel asked. "We can't just take them home."

"Well, it would be a little crowded..." Tess looked at Kyle and he nodded.

"But we've got a lot of floor." Then Kyle looked at Michael. "You've got the couch to spare. The bed even if you're feeling generous."

"Mikey and Liam can stay with me." Michael said, and caught the smile on Maria's lips.

"My mom is out of town for a few more days, so you girls are welcome to stay." She said looking at Alexandra. "But we're going to have to figure out something more permanent."

"Permanent?" Lilah asked as she walked back into the main dinning room. "This isn't going to be permanent. As soon as something big changes, we all disappear." Or as soon as Khivar shows up, and kills each and every one of them.

"But we don't know how long... what are we supposed to change?" Max finally interjected. "Tell us that, what are we supposed to change?"

"See, thats the thing, none of you informed us of that!" Zan snapped. "So how the hell are we supposed to know?"

"Zan." Tess said quietly. "Calm down. Look, we'll try to figure something out. But you guys are going to have to tell us everything. It's the only way for us to figure out what to do."

"Except that you told us not to tell you anything." Liam spoke up.

"Stalemate." Lilah muttered. Alexandra walked over to her sister and wrapped her arms around her waist, and Lilah hugged her against her side.

About a half an hour later, Tess and Kyle left the diner, with Thorin, and Zan. After quietly explaining what she knew to Kyle, he had agreed that the best place for Zan was with them. "I guess that the boys could take the bedroom..." Tess suggested.

"The couch is yours then." Kyle told her. "I'll sleep on the floor."

Thorin wandered away from his parents, it was strange to see the house like this. All his life, Grandma Amy had lived there, with Grandpa Jim, so to see it so devoid of her, of her little touches, it was weird. There weren't any little plastic alien heads hanging from things, like he'd remembered as a child. Disturbing as it was when you put a lot of thought into it, it was still home.

He missed his parents. These younger versions of them, as helpful and positive as they were... they weren't his parents, not yet. He wanted them. And he knew the truth was, Khivar had probably already found them.

"I'm going for a walk." Zan said to Tess, and Kyle as he headed for the door.

"I don't think that is the best idea."

"Why not?"

"Because, Zan, it wasn't that long ago that the FBI was after us... the skins... they are still out there. Nicholas." She shuddered a little. "I don't want anything happening to you, and besides, if someone were to see you, how would you explain it?"

"Max's long lost twin brother." He rolled his eyes. "I'm going for a walk." He repeated and walked out the door. Tess sighed and sunk down to the couch.

"What do I do Kyle?"

"I don't know, we'll figure it out." He sat down beside her, and slid his arm around her and pulled her into his side. "It'll be okay."

They sat like this for a long time, Thorin was still wandering around the house, so they just sat there. Tess had closed her eyes, and was trying to think of a solution to everything, but she had no idea. The front door opened and she and Kyle both looked up, expecting to see Zan. Only they were greeted with Jim Valenti, a perplexed expression on his face.

They all just stared at each other. Jim, curious just how close his son was getting to Tess. He trusted them, but he knew they were teenagers, with teen hormones. "Mom, I'm hungry." Thorin's voice cut through the silence as he walked into the room.

Thorin looked up and saw his grandpa and smiled. "Hey Grandpa." Then he paused, and looked at his parents. "Whoops." He said quietly.

"What is going on here?" Jim asked.

"A very alien thing." Kyle told his dad as he got up. "You know that thing Whitaker was looking for? The Granilith?"

Tess shuddered at the memory of Whitaker taking her. No one had ever scared her quite so much, or hurt her so badly.

"Right." Jim nodded faintly.

"Apparently, our future selves sent all of our children back in time." Tess told him, pulling Thorin close. "This is your grandson, Thorin."

Jim looked from his son, to Tess, to his grandson. He was a grandfather, the thought made his chest swell with pride. "You two had better not be having sex!"

"Dad!" Kyle yelped.

"Ew!" Thorin covered his ears.

"I'll give the boys a ride over to Michael's place, why don't you take the girls to my house, and I'll meet you there." Maria suggested as she fished her keys out of her pocket and looked at Michael and Liam. Mikey was still sleeping in the back room.

"Sure." Alex nodded a little and looked at Alexandra and Lilah, who were still holding onto each other. "Come on, girls."

"Can I-" Isabel cut herself off and looked pleading at Alex. "Can I come?" Alex glanced at his daughters, their daughters, neither one making eye contact.

"Of course." He told her. Together they walked out to the car, Lilah and Alexandra piled into the back seat while Isabel climbed in beside Alex. The ride was short, and quiet, no one quite knew what to say. "So, I guess we wait..." Alex looked up at the house. "Or, you could let us in." He looked at Isabel. "I'm sure Maria wouldn't mind." She nodded and the four got out of the car, and Isabel did a quick glance around before waving her hand over the lock and let them in.

Once inside the awkward moment from the car continued. "Look, I'm sorry." Isabel finally stated. "But... after everything that has happened to us lately, I'm sorry." She had two daughters, that looked just like her, and they were Alex's. She had never actually let herself imagine her life that far ahead. A year ago she'd been determined to be a model, and living in L.A. or New York maybe. Dating some rich and famous actor or athlete. She never imagined having children, and definitely not with Alex. But as she looked at their daughters, and at Alex, she realized, that was what she wanted. Desperately. "Forgive me, please."

Alexandra was the first one to move. She slowly crossed the distance of the living room and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and held onto her tightly. Isabel slid her own arms around Alexandra's shoulders and squeezed her tight. But Lilah didn't move. She stayed right where she was, on the other side of the room.

Lilah looked down at the floor. This woman was her mother. She knew that. But she wasn't. Lilah had never really known her mother. She died not long after she was rescued from Khivar. Alexandra, and Alex were her family. The mother she knew had been very caring, loving, always had made an effort to make sure everyone was happy.

Maria walked into the back room and carefully lifted Mikey into her arms before walking back to the front of the restaurant, where Liam and Michael were waiting. "Why don't you drive, Michael." Maria suggested, and got into the backseat with Mikey. They headed towards Michael's apartment, Maria gently combing her fingers through Mikey's hair.

When they arrived at Michael's apartment, Maria gently woke Mikey up, and they headed inside. Instantly, Maria was livid. "Get out!" She yelled spotting Courtney lounging on Michael's couch. Then she turned and shot Michael a dirty look.

Courtney smirked at Maria and slowly stood up. "Where'd the kids come from?" She asked.

"Back. Off." Maria hissed. "Mikey, go play a video game or something." She pointed him towards the TV. Then Maria paused and looked back at Courtney with a smile. "That is our son. So get it through your head, you don't have a place in this."

"Son?" Courtney looked at Michael.

"Yeah. He's our son."

"And him?" She nodded towards Liam, who seemed to be staring open mouthed at her.

"Off limits." Maria interjected. "Michael's son, again, not yours. So why don't you go shed your skin or something."

"Courtney, now really isn't a good time." Michael motioned towards the door.

She stared at him for a moment, then started to head for the door, she winked at Liam. "I see this is a family thing...I'll come back later."

"No you won't!" Maria yelled as the door shut.

"Maria-" Michael started.

"Oh, don't you dare." Maria pointed a finger at him. "I don't want to hear it." Then she looked at Liam, and fixed her most menacing glare on him. "Stay away from her."

"What?!"

"If you're anything like your father, I know just what you're thinking!" She threw her hands in the air and walked over to Mikey who was happily playing a racing game, and successfully beating his father's score already. "I've gotta get to my house, Lilah and Alexandra are waiting." She kissed the top of his head. "Have one of them call me if you need to, okay?" Mikey nodded, not taking his eyes from the TV. Just like his father. Maria shot Michael another look as she walked out the door.

Maria was half asleep on the couch, face buried in the cushions when she heard her cell phone ringing. She groaned and fumbled for it, tumbling off the couch in the process. "Lo?" She mumbled into the phone, pushing her hair out of her face, as she tried to get off the floor.

"Maria?"

For a second Maria wasn't sure who was on the phone. She pulled it back and looked at the display. Michael's number. But not Michael. "Liam?"

"Mikey is having nightmares... he really wants you."

"Did you wake up Michael?"

"No, Mikey didn't want me to."

"I'll be right there." The phone went dead and Maria yawned as she stood up. She glanced at the clock, it was three in the morning. She groaned and walked down the hall and peeked in her room, where Lilah and Alexandra were both sleeping. She scribbled a quick note for them before finding a pair of jeans and her shoes. And then she was out the door, driving across town to Michael's apartment. When she got there she let herself in and blinked in the dark. Michael was snoring away on the floor and she smiled a little. She walked down the hall to Michael's room and winced at the sudden light. "Hey." She said quietly, seeing Mikey sitting up in bed, a deck of cards between him and Liam.

"Mom!"

"Shh." She instantly hushed him as she walked in and closed the door. "You'll wake up Michael." Maria made her way over to the bed and sat down. "So what's wrong?"

"I keep dreaming about Khivar." Maria frowned and pushed some hair off his forehead. It amazed her, that she had a son. And the fact that even at the age of seventeen, she was completely ready and willing to care for him. Considering she was normally the one that freaked out, it sort of confused her. He made her calm. The idea of him, and knowing that Michael really did love her that much, it all calmed her.

"Why didn't you want to wake up your dad?"

"I don't know him." Mikey said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Mikey looked at Liam with a frown.

"Michael died before Mikey was born." Maria gasped a little.

"What?"

"Nicholas killed him... you found out and went into labor." Liam scratched his eyebrow.

"Oh my..." Maria breathed out. Michael was dead? She'd had to raise their son by herself? "Come here." She said pulling Mikey into her arms. She held onto him tightly and looked at Liam. "I'm sorry." She told him quietly. "I didn't know."

Finally Maria got Mikey back to sleep, and instructed Liam to do the same. She walked back into the living room, Michael was still snoring softly. Slowly she sunk down to her knees beside him, and lifted the edge of the blanket. His eyes flew open and he blinked several times. "Maria?"

"Just, shhh." She whispered and laid down beside him. "Hold me." Maria felt his arms wrap around her, and pull her into his chest and she clung to him. "Don't die." She whispered, feeling the tears in her eyes again.

Michael pulled back a little and looked down at her. "They told you?" He cast a stern glance towards Liam who was settling back onto the couch.

"Don't make me raise our son alone. I can't..." The idea terrified her. Being alone. Mikey not knowing his father.

"Shh." Michael whispered and stroked her hair. "I don't plan to, Maria. I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure that Mikey has a father."

"Liam too." Maria whispered, her face planted against his chest. "He's your son too."

"I know." He pressed his lips against the top of her head. "I don't know why, Maria, I don't know why I had a child with her-"

"Zan told me that you two started having the dreams again... apparently, she got pregnant that way."

"But Tess said-"

"I know what Tess said, and obviously, she was wrong. That or the two of you lied to everyone."

"Maria, I wouldn't-"

"You don't know, Michael. And neither do I. None of us do. Whatever happens, it happens, and I don't want you to fight something just so you don't have a child with her. He is still your son." Michael pulled Maria closer and sighed.

"I never imagined we'd have kids... I mean, yeah, I sort of hoped in the back of my mind, somewhere, that you would some day ..." Maria smiled a little and tilted her head back and kissed him softly.

"Aw, Spaceboy. Are you getting all gushy?"

"No." He grumbled and buried his face in her neck.

"I love you." She whispered against his ear.

"Me too." He sighed.

"_Lilah." _

_Lilah opened her eyes and looked around the room. Alexandra was sleeping soundly beside her. _

"_Lilah."_

"_No." She whispered. _

"_Lilah. Come to me."_

"_No!" She yelled. Blackness surrounded her. "No!" She screamed. When she opened her eyes she was face to face with her father. Her actual father. "You killed them all, didn't you?"_

_He grinned. "Of course."_

"_How could you!? My family." _

"_You don't realize, my dear daughter. The power you have, the power you can have... if you'll just-"_

"_No!" _

_Khivar raised his hand and struck her across the face and watched her fall to the floor. "I thought I taught you a little more respect." He snarled. _

"_You didn't teach me anything." Lilah snapped at him. "My father taught me everything I know. The man that raised me, that loves me!"_

"_Past-tense, my dear." _

"_No! Because we are going to fix everything! And you won't get your hands on him."_

"_My darling daughter, do you realize, if you do that... you will cease to exist?"_

"_I know." She whispered. "But they are more important to me. I would rather my mother, and my sister be alive, than have you walking this planet, or any other planets. I would give my own life for them." _

"_Lilah." She glanced around, and then opened her eyes._

"Lilah!" Alexandra's voice sounded panicked.

"What?" She groaned quietly.

"You were tossing..."

"Just a bad dream." Lilah told her.

"They're dead, aren't they?" Alex asked quietly. "Dad? Uncle Kyle? Aunt Tess and Maria?" She paused. "Claudia?" Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she spoke.

Lilah looked at her sister and gently pulled her into her arms. "I'm so sorry, Alex." She whispered.

"What are we supposed to do, Lilah? How do we fix it?"

"I don't know, I wish I did..." Lilah sighed softly. "Try to get some more sleep." Alex nodded and curled back up on her side. "You know I love you, right?" Lilah asked her sister quietly.

"I know." Alex looked up and frowned. "Are you okay, Lilah?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "It's just weird... being here. Mom..."

"She isn't our mom yet."

"I know, she's not. She doesn't want us."

"She does... she will. Give her time Lilah."

"I'm trying, Alex." Lilah closed her eyes and laid back down. "I'm trying."


End file.
